Sustaining IT advantage: the role of structural differences
MIS Quarterly - Special issue on the strategic use of information systems
Technology investment and business performance
Communications of the ACM
The squandered computer: evaluating the business alignment of information technologies
The squandered computer: evaluating the business alignment of information technologies
Beyond the productivity paradox
Communications of the ACM
Strategies for transitioning 'old economy' firms to e-business
Communications of the ACM - The Adaptive Web
Information Systems Research
Combining IS Research Methods: Towards a Pluralist Methodology
Information Systems Research
Strategic aspirations for net-enabled business
European Journal of Information Systems
Strategic information systems and financial performance
Journal of Management Information Systems - Special section: Navigation in information-intensive environments
An empirical investigation of net-enabled business value
MIS Quarterly
Determinant of Intention to Use Search Engine Advertising: A Conceptual Model
International Journal of Enterprise Information Systems
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Prior research provides evidence that large organizations can derive strategic benefits from developing new applications with web services. This research contributes to the literature by demonstrating that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can derive strategic benefits from using publicly available web services, and that SMEs may be best able to take advantage of the inexpensive, user friendly third party web services that are emerging. In this paper we describe how one small golf retailer used web services to achieve strategic benefits including higher profit margins and better competitive positioning relative to a large competitor. Specifically, action research methods were used to devise and implement an innovative strategy for applying the web services offered by eBay in tandem with web services offered by related third party companies. The business and IT strategies, first year results, and key success factors are described followed by a discussion of the generalizability of the strategies employed. In conclusion, possible directions for future research are discussed.